Anglicans to exit villages

Elderly residents at church-run retirement villages in Christchurch face a difficult choice: leave, or stay in villages whose occupancy will dwindle away.

Anglican Care, the social services arm of the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch, announced yesterday it plans to wind down its Bishopspark and Fitzgerald retirement villages.

A relative of a woman living at the Bishopspark village, opposite Hagley Park, said it came as an absolute shock to residents, who she said were kept in the dark.

It comes a day after the New Zealand Aged Care Association warned of possible closures due to staffing shortages. However, staffing does not appear to be the issue in this case.

Anglican Care said it was losing money on the villages, and its decision ‘‘in principle’’ to exit aged residential care was driven by growth in the sector, namely the ability of large commercial providers to offer services.

The church subsidiary was working with the Canterbury DHB to help residents in the rest home and dementia care areas at its Fitzgerald village find placement.

However, residents in independent units with an occupational rights agreement (ORA) had the right to stay. Both villages would be slowly wound down until all ORAs were relinquished, and no new residents would be admitted.

‘‘Anglican Care will continue to provide the same quality of care to all residents at Bishopspark and Fitzgerald through this extended transition period,’’ Anglican Care Trust Board chair Moka Ritchie said.

‘‘We know this will be a challenging time for our residents and staff.’’

There were 32 residents with ORAs at Fitzgerald and 41 at Bishopspark.

Dr Jane Shearer’s mother moved into an independent cottage at the latter village three years ago.

She said residents had been asking about the future of the complex for months after noticing small changes in the level of service. ‘‘They’re absolutely shocked. ‘‘You’ve got a whole lot of elderly people who are now facing the choice of do you stay in a village that’s being run into the ground, or do you move somewhere else and you don’t have the capital to do it.’’

Despite assurances from Anglican Care, Shearer doubted it would provide the same service level to a dwindling numbers of residents. She said residents were told at the meeting it was costing the church millions of dollars a year to run the facilities.

Shearer said a lot of thought went into choosing a retirement village. People wanted a community and a place they could call home in their final years, she said.

‘‘To be told that community you’ve moved into is going to be disbanded,